Is it possible to "buy" a higher GMAT score through using an elite GMAT prep company?

BusinessWeek put this question forward in an article about "Paying for Points". They profiled Manhattan GMAT and VeritasPrep, two companies that take GMAT prep to the highest extreme. They offer extensive courses, smaller classes and pay $100 an hour or more for their instructors.

The GMAT is the most complex and challenging standardized test in the world, so it make sense that you would need highly-focused specialty prep companies to give you a chance at a good score.

Manhattan GMAT

Pros:

MGMAT's reputation for instruction and materials is outstanding, which is why they have such an enviable roster of corporate clients including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and McKinsey Consulting. Those companies have large numbers of MBA candidates working for them and they trust MGMAT to prep them for admissions into elite business schools. In New York City they have a state-of-the-art two-floor education center and have opened centers in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C.

Cons:
Manhattan GMAT has no admissions consulting service. They are a smaller, more focused company and, despite recent expansion, offer in-person courses only in select major metropolitan areas.

Locations:

GMAT Prep Courses Available In:

Ann Arbor
Atlanta
Austin
Boston
Charlotte
Chicago
Dallas
Denver

Montreal
New Orleans
New York
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Houston
London
Los Angeles

Pros:
They are a global company with over 300 instructors teaching at 60 locations worldwide. They recently opened up locations in India and Dubai.

The key to VeritasPrep's success is offering more of everything: more pay for their GMAT instructors (more than $100/hour), more hours (42 for their course) and more support (25 hours of phone support). Kaplan is much lower on all three issues. The extra support and longer classes are especially helpful for students who may have a weak area, such as math or grammar.

VeritasPrep also offers MBA admissions consulting from former admissions officers at Stanford, Wharton, and Columbia. The people who once judged who got into a top business school can now give you advice about how you can get in! The result is a comprehensive package that helps get you into an ultra-competitive business school.

Cons:
VeritasPrep is not bashful about charging a premium for the quality of their service. The GMAT classes cost $1600 and packages with admissions consulting can run north of $4000.

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